Coops to Co-ops: Welcome to the Future
Driving on Route 13 toward Coops to Co-ops in Princess Anne, Maryland, I thought it would be like any other day. I thought it would be like any other market. I thought I was going to find a story, spend some time with the team and then get back to write. Something happened, though, when my foot hit the grass and I scanned the coops, fields, and forests. I knew I’d discovered much more, a Garden of Eden. I couldn’t believe this place was just off the highway: you’d never know it was there if it weren’t for a humble farmer’s market flag flying at the Peggy Neck Road turn off.
“There’s an energy that flows through the market that people feel when they walk through.” - Thelonius Cook
I closed my eyes and breathed in the cold air. I listened to the sounds of children running wild in the woods. I let my eyes follow the festive colors flashing through the doorways of the old chicken coop. I walked the long way around to survey the land. I made my way to a whimsical white chair in front of an outdoor theater near an old shed adorned with a black carousel horse. I wondered where I was really. Men and women walked about catching up on the week gone by. They slowly went back to work setting up and sipping tea, with their babies and dogs in tow.
Colorful cloths flew onto tables and coffee aromas from Papua New Guinea and Guatemala filled the air. It smelled so good; I grabbed a cup from Revell Roasters. While I sipped my coffee, the market woke up. Wildflowers danced in pumpkins and around lanterns at Flowers of the Field. At another table, pink oyster mushrooms snuggled inside cartons while beans and greens and peppers lay bagged, all for the taking. Intricate deer antler carvings, feathers, natural wood votives, hand drawn cards and beaded beauties made for an inspiring art spread.
There was a feeling, a vibe, something inside the space that almost moved me to tears. I was told later by Coops marketing manager Holly Prievo that many people did just that when they walked in for the first time. A moment later, Coops founder Janet Phillips came riding in on her Gator carrying enormous oblong watermelons from the garden. The children immediately surrounded her, clamoring for a ride around the ponds, and then she was gone. I heard laughter and screams in the distance and something about a swamp monster. Children weren’t just accepted here, but celebrated.
“I’ve always been a kid person. I look at every child like they are the greatest thing on the planet.” - Janet Phillips
Cars pulled into the field, people of all ages and colors walked toward the lengthy red barn-like building. Some stopped at the gardens, some took to picnic tables, but most folks headed through the entrance to gather their goods for the week. Giant stained-glass windows bent the morning light with bright colors. An invigorating mood filled the re-imagined spaces. I passed the time sipping on a Ginger Switchel from Mighty Thundercloud and stocking up on honey from Babcock’s Apiary. When Janet returned, she took me to a farmhouse on the property to look at her big picture map for Coops to Co-ops, and we talked a little bit about how all this came to be.
“We live on planet earth and we don’t know how to live on planet earth.” - Janet Phillips
Janet and her husband Jeff bought their own farm land across the street from Coops back in 2005. They dreamed about turning their land into a creative campground for families, complete with hobbit-style homes built into the side of their hill. While they dreamed of the possibilities, Janet hosted wild edible and medicinal plant walks on the property. She started to think about the many ways she could help educate and support her community by distributing good healthy food. After many barefoot walks in the forest, the idea for a store and market took root.
Janet always knew she was meant to do something, to be a force for change in the world. Her eyes filled with a happy sadness while she reflected on a pivotal promise that helped set the stage for Coops. It was near the end of his life when Janet’s father-in-law, Brice Phillips (of Phillips Crab House) said to her, “Our generations just did what they did. They didn’t think about the consequences.” Janet reassured him in her own hopeful way, “Don’t worry Brice, I’ll fix it.” Brice replied, “I believe you will.” With the weight of that simple statement, in her heart Janet knew how she would spend the rest of her life.
A year later, after Brice passed, Janet opened a raw vegan store, My Nature on 13th Street in Ocean City, Maryland. For four years the shop offered folks the opportunity to learn about plant-based nutrition and to eat the wild edible plants that flourished on her farm. Locals and tourists alike were blown away by her “Hippie Red Bull” and her wild passion for plants. Life intervened, however, as it usually does and tending to family became a priority once more.
Janet closed the doors on My Nature and took on the care of her mother-in-law Shirley Phillips as she approached her last seasons on earth. Shirley passed on Christmas Day 2017, and while Janet considered caring for her in-laws “the greatest honor of her life,” it exacted a toll emotionally and physically. She took a year to grieve, recoup, prune and grow new branches. It was during that time the idea for Coops to Co-ops transformed from a beautiful dream into a tangible plan.
“Janet’s vision is completely radical. It’s a new way to live on this planet.” - Emiliano Espinosa
Janet found sound help and spiritual guidance from old friends in Mexico City. Salvador Espinosa and his son Emiliano became indispensable to her in the care and creation of the Coops to Coops market. Their family made a home in the caretaker house across the street from Janet to work the Coops land and coordinate daily projects. With their support and with Janet’s son Joe serving as master builder, her vision for converting the abandoned chicken coops into greenhouses took shape.
Emiliano, a grounding force for Janet’s visionary spirit, was able to assemble a powerful team of volunteers and help establish the Coops board of directors, with a mission “To build a community that inspires people to engage in more meaningful relationships with each other, their food and the earth.” Together they hope this Eden will impact local lives in a real and powerful way. From food and art festivals to classes and camps, they want to create vibrant community spaces.
“It started with their core vision, but then it spread. Everyone brings their own thing to the table.” - Thelonius Cook
2019 was a creative and formative year for Coops. Structures were modified, lights hung, a kitchen fabricated, and a children’s free play wonderland imagined. Furniture and antiques from the original Phillips Crab House were reused and repurposed within the building. Garden beds filled up with seeds and water, love and light. Volunteers worked tirelessly to see their ideas bloom along with the flowers and soon a massage section, swap shop and yoga area came into play. A local photographer, Lana Foley, created an enchanting studio inside the market and most Saturdays you’ll find her shooting photographs of students, couples and families alike.
Everyone has a real voice in the Coops to Co-ops family. Janet encourages the vendors, their customers, and the community to offer up ideas to better the project. For instance, Co-op Shop Director Amanda Grames and Coops volunteer and vendor Elisha Applegarth have given much of their time in fashioning a beautiful bulk herb and food supply space for the public to purchase grains, seeds, teas and all sorts of wonderful products. One of their dreams is to create a larger grocery store within the market, a one-stop shop for all your weekly kitchen pantry and beauty needs.
“It’s how it works when you lead with your heart rather than your head.” - Janet Phillips
Janet’s dream came to fruition on June 20, 2020, when Coops to Coops officially opened to the public. With the help of her team and support from her husband Jeff, the first phase of her vision came to be. It may be the best kept secret on The Shore in its infancy, but as word continues to spread, this place is a beacon of hope and change for the region.
The team is working on continued improvements on the farm, converting the other three coops into greenhouses, erecting a holistic healing center and eventually a nature camp for families. Right now, they offer wild edible walks with Janet (who is also a raw vegan chef) and informal classes on how to work with the ingredients off the land. The farm hosts seasonal celebrations, evening drum circles, and festive music and food trucks on First Saturday market days - there’s no limit to what they can dream up.
Just 5 months in, Coops to Co-ops has already made a difference in the community. They don’t charge the vendors who sell their own goods every Saturday, and at closing Janet buys up the leftover produce and makes a family meal for everyone to enjoy together.
So, when you drive up, don’t let the name “farmer’s market” fool you, Coops to Co-ops is much more than that. It’s a space to be, to breathe, to buy or barter, to spend a day with family and in community with friends. Children can adventure in a fairyland of music, art, free play, and wild wood. You can shop and sit, read and write, or walk and wander if you like.
Janet won’t rest until all the dilapidated chicken houses (some 3,000 or more across The Shore) are turned into local greenhouses and community markets. Welcome to the future, starting right here right now in Princess Anne.
Coops to Co-ops Community Market
31140 Peggy Neck Rd, Princess Anne, MD
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Seasonal Saturday Market, 9am — 1pm
Want to be invited to special events like farm-to-table dinners, overnight camp-outs, bonfires, outdoor movie nights and other perks and discounts? Join the Coops to Co-ops Country Club!
